Crimes Against Tolkienity

[Bêthberry]

Reaching back a ways into this thread ...<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Not so. Witness The Matrix, We got a cell phone, a video game [with an hour more of the story only there] and a few adds. No action figures, books [?!] or mountains of cheap plastic crappola. They easily could have cashed in on any or all of the above to make millions more, but had the decency and taste to refrain.<BR> <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Saucepan Man is correct, Lindil. Matrix action figures were made and have been marketed mainly through comic book and fantasy stores. I've seen many at The Silver Snail in Toronto, Canada, and some at Toys R Us. I've also seen many Keenu Reeves lookalikes walking the streets: merchandising extended into clothing. The demographic for Matrix is different from that for Lord of The Rings and so it is marketed differently. <P>Movie tickets alone (however exhorbitant their price) cannot recover the tremendous costs involved in making movies these days. And why blame the merchanisers if there are fans who wish so much to recreate the world of LOTR, Matrix, Star Wars, PotC, HP, to the extent of wanting actually to live in it? KFC, Burger King and other companies would not buy the rights LOTR logos if Tolkien fans did not reward them for doing so.<P>Personally, I think the car merchandising is hilarious. It reminds me of Tolkien's view of the automobile. (He would use them; he just wouldn't own or drive one.) Pure deconstruction, that.<p>[ 9:52 AM December 15, 2003: Message edited by: Bêthberry ]